Variance in spermatozoa number among Apis dorsata drones and among Apis mellifera drones

Gudrun Koeniger , Nikolaus Koeniger , Salim Tingek , Mananya Phiancharoen

Published estimates of the mean spermatozoa numbers for Apis dorsata drones vary from 1.2 × 106 and 2.4 × 106; the number of spermatozoa per individual drone vary from 0.22 × 106 to 2.65 × 106. Counts presented here revealed 1.19 × 106 + 0.25 × 106 spermatozoa in drones sampled near a colony and 1.59 × 106 + 0.18 × 106 in drones sampled at a drone congregation area (DCA) in Sabah, Borneo. The difference between the two sites is significant. Further, the degree of variation in sperm numbers among drones near the colonies was higher than at the DCA. Possible reasons are discussed for spermatozoa number variation between drone samples in A. dorsata and in A. mellifera (published estimates). Furthermore, it is discussed if differences in spermatozoa numbers among fathering males may contribute to differences in patriline proportions within colonies.

Mots clés: variation in sperm number; individual drone; Apis dorsata; Apis mellifera; average

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Gudrun Koeniger, Nikolaus Koeniger, Salim Tingek, Mananya Phiancharoen. Variance in spermatozoa number among Apis dorsata drones and among Apis mellifera drones. Apidologie, 2005, 36 (2), pp.279-284. ⟨hal-00892133⟩